Apple growers in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia have taken an interest in precision apple thinning research funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP). Project leader Michael Basedow who has worked with commercial apple growers in the northeastern NNY region, spoke about the use of pollen tube growth modeling with Michelle Cortens of  The Orchard Outlook produced by Perennia Food and Agriculture, Inc., a development agency focused on Nova Scotia’s food sector. He presents a mini how-to lesson on how the modeling work. This link will take you to an Orchard Outlook page with a “play” button under the photo for the “E4 S2. Don’t sneeze at blossom thinning” episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e4-s2-dont-sneeze-at-blossom-thinning/id1476334530?i=1000506961027. Michael is a tree fruit specialist with the Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Program that includes the northeastern region of NNY in its service area.

To read reports on NNYADP-funded precision apple research: https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/horticulture/nny-horticultural-research/

 

The 2021-2022 New York State budget includes $300,000 in support of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP). State funding of the NNYADP provides for high priority agricultural research projects related to environmental and water quality conservation, local foods production, and climate adaptability for the farming sector. Seventeen projects are currently underway in 2021 focused on maximizing opportunities for the dairy, crops, horticulture, maple, and livestock production sectors.

Joseph Giroux, a Co-Chair of the farmer-driven program that provides farm-based research for the dairy, field crops, horticultural, maple and livestock sectors, said, “On behalf of our farmers, families, and farm-fed communities, we thank the New York State Legislature, including our local representatives and members of the Senate and Assembly Ag Committees, for the State funding that supports critical research related to local food production, natural resource conservation, climate adaptability for the agricultural sector, and the economic sustainability of our rural communities. We especially recognize Assemblyman Billy Jones for leading the effort to secure this critical funding,” said Joseph Giroux, Co-Chair of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program.

Giroux of Plattsburgh, Jon Greenwood of Canton, and Jon Rulfs of Keeseville serve as NNYADP Co-Chairs with nearly 100 farmers who evaluate and select research for NNYADP grants funding.

The New York State Legislature established the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program in 1961 in recognition of the opportunity for agriculture in the northern region of the state to become a major economic engine locally and for the state. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets administers the funding for the NNYADP. Learn more under any of the tabs in the menu bar and the News section at https://nnyagdev.org.

Evaluating Aerial Data Access for All Corn Growers: NNYADP Research Update

Northern New York; April 12, 2021.  Dairy and cash grain producers in northern New York State are participating in research to evaluate if aerial imagery from drones and satellites may enable all farmers, not just those with a yield monitor, to build a corn yield database for their individual farm fields. The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is funding the research; Cornell University nutrient management researcher Quirine M. Ketterings, Ph.D., is the project leader.

A large regional database has been established as a result of the comparison of yield monitor data provided Regional producers and Champlain Valley Agronomics with drone and satellite imagery data. The project’s latest report is posted at https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/2020-nnyadp-projects.

“The estimated yield maps developed in 2020 on northern New York farms using aerial imagery data from unmanned drones and satellite systems showed promising results, demonstrating the potential to use imagery for mapping yield without the use of yield monitors,” Dr. Ketterings said.

The desired outcome of this research is to develop a standalone tool that uses aerial imagery data to automatically generate corn grain and corn silage yield potentials and yield zone maps for individual farm fields. These maps will help farmers to more precisely allocate manure, fertilizer and seed resources, and to enhance cost-effective agricultural environmental stewardship.

“Not all farms can afford yield-monitoring equipment. If images obtained with unmanned aerial systems can consistently be used to accurately estimate corn grain and silage yields, we can design an approach to give all corn growers access to reliable yield data without the use of that equipment for developing farm-specific yield stability zone management,” Ketterings noted.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Northern N.Y.; March 31, 2021.  The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has released a suite of research reports on nutrient management efficiency and on agricultural environmental conservation related to tile drainage. The reports add to the industry knowledge base that helps farms apply efficient use of fertilizer and manure resources and natural resource stewardship practices. The reports are posted at https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/2020-nnyadp-projects.

Northern New York dairy and cash grain producers assisted research evaluating the opportunity for all farmers, not just those with yield monitoring devices on field equipment, to use satellite and drone imagery to develop yield estimate maps to enhance zone-based field management efficiency. The estimated yield maps developed by the project in 2020 show promising results for the use of free data layers obtainable by the use of aerial technology.

The NNYADP “Farm-Specific Corn Yield Potentials and Nitrogen and Phosphorus Crop Removal Estimates” project demonstrates how farmers can use farm-specific, multi-year yield tracking data to determine field-specific or soil-type specific corn crop yield potential. The most recent yield potential trials in northern NY notably expanded the data set of yield-per-soil-type analysis to help generate yield potential estimates for soils of critical importance to farms in the region. This regional field data, including data for many unique soils, adds to the ongoing statewide effort to evaluate adjustments in the Cornell equation that incorporates yield potentials to drive nitrogen application guidelines.

Additional research and analysis of data from participating farms by a Cornell University research team, demonstrates the incentive for applying best management practices to fields with the greatest risk of phosphorus loss. This northern New York regional assessment adds data to support the updating of the New York Phosphorus Index as a means of scoring fields for the risk of nutrient loss.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has also funded unprecedented agricultural environmental conservation research associated with tile drainage and field crop nutrient use. Miner Institute Nutrient Management Researcher Laura Klaiber is conducting the research that has begun building a foundational understanding of how precision nutrient management an contribute to natural resource and water quality conservation.

The latest NNYADP field drainage project reports summarize on-farm field trial data from year’round edge-of-field runoff studies, and continue evaluation of the long-term agronomic and water quality impacts of tile drainage on cornfields. Klaiber has presented the results of this research to agricultural and natural resource groups in New York and throughout the U.S. Project collaborators include the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and SUNY Plattsburgh.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Learn more about NNYADP research related to agricultural environmental conservation, dairy, field crops, livestock, horticulture and maple at https://nnyagdev.org.